A chamber orchestra is a group of musicians who play mostly classical music and are usually between the ages of twelve and forty. In a chamber orchestra, each instrument plays a different part of the composition, even if there are several of the same instrument. The number of members distinguishes a chamber orchestra from a symphony orchestra or a philharmonic orchestra. Larger orchestras can have up to 100 members, with multiple instrumentalists performing the same role. Chamber orchestras usually don’t have a conductor, which necessitates a unique set of skills and a dynamic relationship between the musicians.
The use of musicians to entertain guests in a “chamber” by seventeenth-century European royals and upper-class families gave rise to the term “chamber music,” which was intended to be performed by a small group of musicians for a smaller audience. Chamber orchestras are thought to have evolved from French chansons, which featured four singers and a lute. This arrangement evolved over time to include a variety of stringed instruments playing in unison, with or without a voice. Composer Joseph Haydn began writing music for string quartets in the 18th century. Other composers, such as Beethoven, Mozart, and Schubert, began writing music for small groups of stringed instruments with the addition of a piano in the following years.
By the twentieth century, music was being written for larger orchestras that included stringed instruments, woodwinds, percussion instruments, and occasionally brass instruments. Chamber orchestras played many of the pieces that symphony orchestras couldn’t play because they were too big. Many of Bach’s, Brahms’, and Dvorak’s works are written for small ensembles. Music lovers may never have the chance to hear these lesser-known works unless they are performed by a chamber orchestra.
A chamber orchestra is also led differently than a symphony orchestra. A conductor in a symphony orchestra leads the group with hand gestures and body language. Chamber orchestras do not have a conductor, relying instead on musician hierarchy to create a more egalitarian ensemble.
This forces musicians to collaborate, giving them more artistic freedom while also relying on the other members of the chamber orchestra to make the music come together. Because of the arrangement’s intimacy, chamber orchestra members must be able to tolerate and work well with a variety of personalities, some of which may be quite strong. This makes member chemistry in a chamber orchestra more important than in a larger orchestra, and it explains why there is such a high rate of musician turnover.